Clausewitz: His Life and Work

by Donald Stoker

Overview

Carl von Clausewitz's masterwork, On War, is generally considered the greatest text on military theory ever written. Clausewitz is a touchstone for the field today, and is read by scholars, students, and military personnel around the world. And yet to Clausewitz himself, far more important than achieving recognition for his scholarly and theoretical contributions was achieving glory on the field of battle-winning renown not with his pen but with his sword.

Military historian Donald Stoker's perceptive biography of Carl von Clausewitz moves skillfully between Clausewitz's career as a soldier and his work as a theoretician and author, exploring the composition of On War and other works while also emphasizing the many military engagements in which Clausewitz fought. Though Clausewitz certainly spilled his share of ink, he also spilled blood—his as well as that of the enemy. As an officer in the Prussian army, Clausewitz fought in battles from Jena-Auerstedt to Waterloo, as well as the battle of Borodino while serving the Russians. Stoker takes readers through the heat of these battles, providing historical overview and discussing each engagement in detail. Rich context is provided by Clausewitz himself, who wrote abundant letters to his wife and friends throughout his life, and from which Stoker draws extensively.

Clausewitz argues for the centrality of Clausewitz's work as a soldier, but it does not neglect his historical achievements in military theory. Stoker unpacks each of Clausewitz's significant works, considering their influences and describing the circumstances around their composition. The interplay between the biographical details of Clausewitz's life and the arguments put forth in his written works allows for a deeper understanding of these familiar texts, and Stoker's insightful commentary adds depth to the discussion. The result is an absorbing reassessment of both the man and his legacy, and a significant contribution to the study of Clausewitz and his place in today's military and political landscape.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199357949
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/03/2014
Pages:	372
Sales rank:	899,720
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Donald Stoker is Professor of Strategy and Policy for the U.S. Naval War College's program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He is the author of The Grand Design: Strategy and the U.S. Civil War.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Point of it All
Chapter 2: Boy Soldier (1780-1795)
Chapter 3: Student of War-And of Man (1795-1805)
Chapter 4: War: The 1806 Campaign (1806-1807)
Chapter 5: Reformer and Rebel (1808-1812)
Chapter 6: War: The 1812 Campaign
Chapter 7: War: The 1813 Campaign
Chapter 8: War: The 1813-1814 Campaign
Chapter 9: War: The 1815 Campaign
Chapter 10: Writer, Soldier (1815-1831)
Chapter 11: The Legacy

Editorial Reviews

09/08/2014
Carl von Clausewitz is better known as a scholar of war than a soldier, but Stoker, of the Naval Postgraduate School, demonstrates that Clausewitz’s theoretical writings were, in fact, heavily informed by extensive field experience. Clausewitz first saw combat in 1793 as a 13-year-old—as Stoker clarifies, not uncommon for the time—and he “discovered the Enlightenment” two years later while awaiting peace. Prussia’s quick collapse in the Jena campaign of 1806 made Clausewitz aware of the “non-material elements of war.” During the Reform Movement during the years of Napoleon’s ascendancy, Clausewitz perceived the need for developing a theory of war that synthesized permanent and circumstantial principles by integrating the approaches of Immanuel Kant into the study of political and history. He also “dreamed of distinguishing himself on the battlefield” and smelled more than a whiff or two of grapeshot between 1812 and 1815—though from a distance. Stoker convincingly argues that the Russian and Prussian armies in which Clausewitz served made optimal use of him on staffs, where his skills as planner and administrator were at a premium. This practical knowledge informed his voluminous postwar writings on history, politics, and war itself. On War “shows us how to think about war,” Stoker notes, but it is shaped by how wars are made: that remains Clausewitz’s special legacy. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Great. A skillful study of the interplay of military history and thought provides Don Stoker with an instructive way to approach Clausewitz's career and writings." —Jeremy Black, author of War and Technology

"One of the book's great strengths is its accessibility; Stoker weaves the standard sources together with authoritative, modern secondary treatments to form a readable, well-paced narrative that draws out biographical detail while illuminating the broader political and military canvas on which Clausewitz's life was lived." - War on the Rocks

"Carefully crafted...an important and worthy book." - The Daily Beast

From the Publisher